Dunamu, the owner of Upbit, one of South Korea’s biggest crypto exchanges by trading volume, saw a drop of 81.6% in net profit in the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year.
The company reported a net profit of 159.9 billion Korean won (KRW), worth around $123 million, in 2022 Q3. However, on Nov. 28, the company said that in the third quarter of this year, it could only generate 29.5 billion KRW, worth around $23 million. This marks a drop of 81% in the company’s net profit.
The firm cited a “sluggish investment market” due to an economic downturn as the reason for its sales drop. In addition, Dunamu noted that the decline in net profit was because of the drop in the prices of virtual assets compared to the previous quarter.
Nevertheles, Dunamu believes that popularizing blockchain services will be a key driving force in overcoming the bear market. A Dunamu spokesperson said in the report that they will continue their efforts to revitalize the blockchain ecosystem and create a more advanced investment environment based on their technological capabilities.
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Apart from its earnings, the company has also recently reported that hackers have targeted their crypto exchange Upbit 159,000 times in the first half of 2023. On Oct. 9, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that Upbit saw a 117% increase in hacking attempts in 2023 compared to the first half of 2022. Despite the increased hacking attempts, the exchange has not reported any breaches since a $50 million exploit in 2019.
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